US crude oil futures have retreated from their April highs, settling at $101.02 per barrel on May 20, 2026.

This represents an $11.93 decline from the recent peak of $112.95 recorded on April 7, according to Detik Finance.

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The price drop follows a period of heightened geopolitical tensions that had driven prices sharply higher earlier this year.

Geopolitical Shock and Price Surge

The Strait of Hormuz closure and the start of Operation Epic Fury on February 28 triggered a sharp price surge.

The current month West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures contract jumped from $67.02 per barrel on February 27 to $90.90 by March 6.

This rapid increase reflected market fears over supply disruptions from one of the world's most critical oil chokepoints.

Inventory Builds Ease Supply Fears

Market stability has been supported by the success of the U. S.

fracking revolution, which enabled commercial crude oil inventories to rise significantly.

Inventories increased from 419.8 million barrels on February 13 to 465.7 million barrels on April 17.

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This shift moved inventories from being 12.7 million barrels below the previous year's level to 22.6 million barrels above it by mid-April.

A recent morning report indicated that despite a 4.3 million barrel weekly decline, the current inventory of 452.9 million barrels remains 11.0 million barrels higher than last year.

The elevated commercial crude stock was heavily supported by a 31.3 million barrel withdrawal from the U.

S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) since March 20.

The SPR, designed to mitigate supply disruptions during volatile periods, saw its total capacity fall to 384.1 million barrels last week.

An 8.6 million barrel supply injection from the SPR last week helped offset a sharp decline in crude oil imports arriving from Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

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Imports from those nations dropped to 1.8 million barrels last week, down from 7.5 million barrels during the week of February 13.

Prior to the supply disruption, increased production from OPEC had raised daily U. S.

imports from Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Imports grew from a four-week average of 0.457 million barrels per day in early December to 0.797 million barrels per day in mid-February, shifting weekly volume from 3.2 million barrels to 5.6 million barrels.

Domestic production in the lower-48 states also sustained high inventory levels by continuously reaching historic highs.

Output pumped 2.4 million barrels more last week than the same period last year.

The application of hydraulic fracturing has tripled crude production across the lower-48 states over the longer term.

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Domestic output averaged 13.290 million barrels per day last week, rising above last year's average of 12.950 million barrels per day and significantly exceeding the 4.311 million barrels per day recorded in 2006.